One Breath, Twelve Steps: A Buddhist Path to Recovery from Addiction

In this six-session audio course, Griffin shares personal insights from his own struggle with addiction and offers guided meditation practices to support each step of the recovery process. Listeners will discover universally accessible ways to relate to the idea of a higher power, how the wisdom from the Four Noble Truths and the concept of karma can be applied to AA's life review, and much more.

Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction

Viewing addiction as cravings in the mind and body, Noah Levine shows how a path of meditative awareness can alleviate those desires and ease suffering. Refuge Recovery includes daily meditation practices, written investigations that explore the causes and conditions of our addictions, and advice and inspiration for finding or creating a community to help you heal and awaken. Practical yet compassionate, Levine's successful Refuge Recovery system is designed for anyone interested in a non-theistic approach to recovery.

Recovery One Breath at a Time: Mindfulness Practices for Overcoming Addiction

Mindfulness has proven medical benefits for relief from pain and stress, but what about addiction? As Kevin Griffin has learned, there is no more powerful tool than mindfulness for helping us cope with the moment-to-moment challenges of recovery.

Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment

From one of America's greatest minds, a journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. In Why Buddhism Is True, Wright leads listeners on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age.

The Mindful Path to Addiction Recovery: A Practical Guide to Regaining Control over Your Life

Here, Dr. Lawrence Peltz, who has worked as an addiction psychiatrist for more than two decades, draws from his clinical experience and on the techniques of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) to explain the fundamental dynamics of addiction and the stages of the recovery process, and also gives us specific mindfulness exercises to support recovery.

In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon

This landmark collection is the definitive introduction to the Buddha's teachings - in his own words. The American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, whose voluminous translations have won widespread acclaim, here presents selected discourses of the Buddha from the Pali Canon, the earliest record of what the Buddha taught. Divided into 10 thematic chapters, In the Buddha's Words reveals the full scope of the Buddha's discourses, from family life and marriage to renunciation and the path of insight.

Dharma Punx

As with many self-destructive kids, Noah Levine's search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn't end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness of drugs and violence, Noah looked for positive ways to channel his rebellion against what he saw as the lies of society. Fueled by his anger at so much injustice and suffering, Levine now uses that energy and the practice of Buddhism to awaken his natural wisdom and compassion.

Kind Awareness: Guided Meditations for an Inner Revolution

When faced with the injustice and suffering of the world, Noah Levine rebelled by getting angry-even though his bitterness almost led to his self-destruction through drugs and violence. What changed? "I discovered the greatest rebellion of all is an inner revolution fueled not by rage", says Levine, "but by deep and pervading kindness." With Kind Awareness, Levine shares foundational Buddhist insights and practices for uncovering our true nature and our innate potential for wisdom and compassion.

Being Sober: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting to, Getting Through, and Living in Recovery

The disease of addiction affects 1 out of 10 people in the United States, and is a devastating - often, fatal - illness. Now, from the physician director of the renowned Betty Ford Center, comes a step-by-step plan with a realistic "one-day-at-a-time" approach to a disease that so often seems insurmountable. With a focus on reclaiming the power that comes from a life free of dependency, Being Sober walks listeners through the many phases of addiction and recovery without judgment or the overly "cultish" language of traditional 12-step plans.

Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth about Reality

This is not your typical Zen book. Brad Warner, a young punk who grew up to be a Zen master, spares no one. This bold new approach to the "Why?" of Zen Buddhism is as strongly grounded in the tradition of Zen as it is utterly revolutionary. Warner's voice is hilarious, and he calls on the wisdom of everyone from punk and pop culture icons to the Buddha himself to make sure his points come through loud and clear.

There Is No God and He Is Always with You: A Search for God in Odd Places

Brad Warner was initially interested in Buddhism because he wanted to find God, but Buddhism is usually thought of as godless. In the three decades since Warner began studying Zen, he has grappled with paradoxical questions about God and managed to come up with some answers. In this fascinating search for a way beyond the usual arguments between fundamentalists and skeptics, Warner offers a profoundly engaging and idiosyncratic take on the ineffable power of the "ground of all being."

Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye

In Sit Down and Shut Up, Brad Warner tackles one of the great works of Zen literature, the Shobogenzo by 13th century Zen master Dogen. Illuminating Dogen's enigmatic teachings in plain language, Warner intertwines sharp philosophical musings on sex, evil, anger, meditation, enlightenment, death, God, sin, and happiness with an exploration of the power and pain of the punk rock ethos.

Alcoholics Anonymous Deluxe Edition

A 75th anniversary keepsake volume of the most important and practical self-help book ever written, Alcoholics Anonymous. Here is a special deluxe edition of a book that has changed millions of lives and launched the modern recovery movement: Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous has touched and transformed myriad lives, and finally appears in a volume that honors its posterity and impact.

Millions of people worry that drinking is affecting their health, yet are unwilling to seek change because of the misery and stigma associated with alcoholism and recovery. They fear drinking less will be boring, involving deprivation, difficulty, and significant lifestyle changes. This Naked Mind offers a new solution. Packed with surprising insight into the reasons we drink, it will open your eyes to the startling role of alcohol in our culture.

The Dharma Bums

Two ebullient young men are engaged in a passionate search for dharma, or truth. Their major adventure is the pursuit of the Zen way, which takes them climbing into the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude - a lesson that has a hard time surviving their forays into the pagan groves of San Francisco's bohemia, with its marathon wine-drinking bouts, poetry jam sessions, experiments in "yabyum", and other non-ascetic pastimes.

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

Best-selling writer and physician Gabor Maté looks at the epidemic of addictions in our society, tells us why we are so prone to them, and details what is needed to liberate ourselves. Starting with a close view of his drug-addicted patients, Dr. Maté looks at his own history of compulsive behavior, weaving a story of real people who struggle with addiction with the latest research on addiction and the brain. In a bold synthesis of clinical experience, insight and cutting edge scientific findings, Dr. Maté sheds light on this most puzzling of human frailties.

The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love - Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits

We are all vulnerable to addiction. Whether it’s a compulsion to constantly check social media, binge eating, smoking, excessive drinking, or any other behaviors, we may find ourselves uncontrollably repeating. Why are bad habits so hard to overcome? Is there a key to conquering the cravings we know are unhealthy for us? This book provides groundbreaking answers to the most important questions about addiction.

Get Up: A 12-step Guide to Recovery for Misfits, Freaks, and Weirdos

As an atheist with a background in fundamentalism, Bucky Sinister was skeptical of 12-step groups when the time came for him to get sober. He was afraid of losing his artistic abilities and had big problems with the higher power concept. In spite of his hesitations, he stuck with the program and it rewarded him greatly. In Get Up, he shares the knowledge he gained on his journey, from being afraid of AA philosophies to embracing them, motivating others to join him in their own efforts to get clean.

Healing the Core Wound of Unworthiness: The Gift of Redemptive Love

"So many of us hold a deep belief that we were born unworthy," reflects Adyashanti, "inadequate, unlovable, and alone." But what if, in truth, we weren't put here to pay penance, change our karma, or "fix" ourselves? What if we chose to be here because we so loved the world that we poured ourselves into it - to make it whole again, to restore "the hidden divinity amid the disaster"? With Healing the Core Wound of Unworthiness, we're invited to entertain that possibility.

Don't Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master

The Shobogenzo (The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) is a revered 800-year-old Zen Buddhism classic written by the Japanese monk Eihei Dogen. Despite the timeless wisdom of his teachings, many consider the book difficult to understand. In Don't Be a Jerk, Zen priest and best-selling author Brad Warner, through accessible paraphrasing and incisive commentary, applies Dogen's teachings to modern times.

The Joy of Being: Awakening to One's True Identity

When challenges arise in your life, what happens inside of you? For many of us, the larger the problem, the more we resist, contract, and react unconsciously. On the other hand, explains Eckhart Tolle, in any given moment we have the chance to remain open to life, align with what is, and experience the natural sense of peace and aliveness that he calls "the joy of being".

New Seeds of Contemplation

New Seeds of Comtemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widely read and best loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, the Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics, while others have compared Merton's reflections to those of Thoreau.

Audible Editor Reviews

Mel Ash’s The Zen of Recovery brings the spiritual dimension to recovery, as it seeks the middle ground between 12-step programs and Zen Buddhism.

The three-part structure of The Zen of Recovery is based on an old Zen story. The first part features a background section about Zen Buddhism and Ash’s own gripping personal story of alcoholism. This section is followed by a collection of exploratory essays dealing with issues faced by people in recovery. The third section offers practical advice on applying Zen to the recovering listener’s life.

Kevin Young imparts gravitas and intimacy to this revealing and unabridged guide to spirituality and recovery.

Publisher's Summary

Zen mind connects to the heart of recovery in this compelling blend of East and West. Courageously drawing from his lifetime of experience as an abused child, alcoholic, Zen student, and dharma teacher, author Mel Ash gives listeners a solid grounding in the Twelve Steps and the Eightfold Path and shows their useful similarities for those in recovery.

Where does The Zen of Recovery rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a very specific book I wouldn't recommend to anyone not actively attending 12-step meetings who doesn't already have some knowledge of Buddhist practice and teachings. If you do have these two qualifications, the book can be immensely helpful in helping you process the steps and make working them part of your daily practice.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I appreciated Mel's anecdotes and examples and would have happily listened to more of them. The author has a wonderfully casual sense of humor that helps remove the pressure from what can feel like very serious work.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Young – was your favorite?

The narrator spoke for the author with complete authority. His performance is so natural, it's easy to forget the voice you are hearing is not that of Mel Ash.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from The Zen of Recovery?

I did not actively try to assimilate the book but let it wash over me and seep into my subconscious. One thing perhaps is the sense that a higher power can be anything or anyone as long as it is beyond you, that is outside of you. After watching Pride and Prejudice recently, I decided my higher power looks like Laurence Olivier's Darcy in the sense that if Larry were to turn his eyes upon you and look directly at you, it would feel like what it must feel like to have God look at you. This heart pounding exhilaration and all consuming warm glow. Silly, maybe, but its nice to have the visual image and this little joke to pull out my pocket when the idea of God seems too intangible to apply to everyday life.

I can't really say enough positive things about this book. It has been a wonderful guide to working the 11th step and practicing the 12 step principals in all of my affairs. I hope others traveling a similar path to me find as much peace and insight as I have from this book.

I found his story of what it was like what happened and what it's like now very compelling and his interpretation of the 12 steps very insightful instruction for meditation quite helpful glad I listened glad I shared